Nine witnesses including police will be called to give evidence on a lengthy investigation into the alleged murder of underworld figure Robert Issa.
Five men have been charged with the 27-year-old's murder, and attempted murder of an associate, after he was gunned down in 2023 at a shopping centre car park in Melbourne's north.
The men, who have also been charged with criminal damage by fire or arson, and all faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
They included Bechara Bayrouty, Dion Perrone and Muhammed Sayan, who remain in custody and appeared via video link.
Meanwhile co-accused, Fabio Perrone and Christian Behrndt, are on bail and also faced court remotely.
Defence lawyers were granted permission on Wednesday to cross-examine nine witnesses, including a senior constable and a sergeant, at a committal hearing in August.
Bayrouty's barrister Julian Murphy said he was seeking to question "key people involved in the boardroom decisions" as part of the police investigation.
"This has been a very long investigation, there's been times where it seems to have almost essentially run to a dead end," he told the court.
"What we seek to understand at committal ... how comprehensive has this investigation been? Why have some (been charged) and not others? Inquiries that have been made and any issues with legality."
He asked for the prosecution to be ordered to disclose evidence to defence eight weeks before the committal hearing begins due to an "absolutely huge amount" of disclosure.
Phone records will be central to the prosecution's case, Dr Murphy said, and he sought to question an East Coast Car Rentals employee on how GPS data was obtained.
Prosecutor David Glynn SC said there were resourcing issues within Victoria Police and the Homicide Squad, but he understood disclosure was important.
"Police will do their best," he said.
Magistrate Donna Bakos ordered the prosecution to hand over disclosure to defence by June 15.
The group will face a committal hearing, which has been set down for two weeks, on August 17.
